And like most followers, the Cannibal believes that Tadej Pogacar is the overwhelming favorite. According to him, the Slovenian even has a real chance of achieving the Giro-Tour double this year, a feat that Merckx has achieved three times but that no rider has managed to accomplish since Marco Pantani in 1998.
”The double is a possibility for Pogacar but who knows what could happen between now and July 21 (date of the end of the Tour de France, Editor's note)? Will Vingegaard be there at the start? Tadej is fantastic – that’s an understatement – but he’s not unbeatable”, nevertheless nuanced Eddy Merckx.
Eddy Merckx's secrets: the ex-champion reveals why he no longer wants to be a runner today
Behind the big favorite, the suspense could be much more intense with a view to the final podium. Among the candidates, we could find a Belgian, Cian Uijtdebroeks, who had a perfect first weekend, taking the white jersey. For Merckx, the ranking of the best young person must become the objective of the Visma rider | Lease a Bike: “If he succeeds, he will have succeeded in his Giro. And this will undoubtedly mean that he will also have obtained a good final ranking.”
For La Gazzetta dello Sport, the five-time winner of the Tour de France also gave his news. On the night of March 26 to 27, Merckx was hospitalized following an intestinal obstruction. Under emergency surgery, the former champion had more than a meter of intestine removed. “I was really scared”, he confided, “It's already a little better, I'm trying to recover slowly. As the weather is bad in Belgium, I stay indoors most of the time. This will allow me to watch the Giro on television.”
